US, China reach deals on access to beef, financial services


The United States and China will expand trade in beef and chicken and increase access for financial firms, as part of a plan to reduce the massive U.S. trade deficit with Beijing, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

The deals are the first tangible results of the 100 days of trade talks that began last month after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Florida to discuss cooperation between the world's two largest economies.

The countries have agreed that China will allow U.S. imports of beef by no later than July 16. By that same deadline, the United States said it would issue a proposed rule to allow Chinese cooked poultry to enter U.S. markets, Ross told reporters at a briefing.Beijing also agreed to issue guidelines by then to allow U.S.-owned card payment services "to begin the licensing process" in a sector where China's UnionPay system has had a near monopoly. Foreign-owned firms in China will also be able to provide credit rating services. The talks with China are latest in a series of actions since Trump took office in January aimed at remaking U.S. international trade relations.